THE U.S. SUPREME COURT CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH TO PRESERVE THE SECOND AMENDMENT; THE GREATER EFFORT RESTS, AS IT ALWAYS HAS, WITH THE PEOPLE

POST-BRUEN—WHAT IT ALL MEANS AND WHAT ITS IMPACT IS BOTH FOR THOSE WHO SUPPORT AND CHERISH THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS AND THOSE WHO DO NOT; THOSE WHO SEEK TO UNDERMINE AND EVENTUALLY TO DESTROY EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT AND THOSE WHO SEEK TO PRESERVE AND STRENGTHEN THE RIGHT BOTH FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS

MULTISERIES

PART EIGHT (REWORKED)

IT HAS BEEN A LONG HARD BATTLE TO SECURE THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. AND YET MORE BATTLES REMAIN TO BE FOUGHT

Bruen has been an arduous, time-consuming, expensive, uphill battle for New Yorkers who simply wish to exercise their natural law right of armed self-defense. It will continue to be so. Bruen hasn’t changed a damn thing—at least in New York—and matters will remain the same until or unless New Yorkers say they have had enough of the specious nonsense spouted from the New York Governor, Kathy Hochul and others like her. She is cut from the same cloth as her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo. They claim they care about the life and well-being of New Yorkers, even as innocent residents fear for their safety and well-being, as they have good reason to do. But they simply don’t care, And New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, is no different. They are on the same page, each a carbon copy of the other, especially in matters involving their singular abhorrence of guns and antipathy toward the civilian citizen owning and possessing them. That fact is engrained in their brains. They won’t change. Those New Yorkers who continue to elect to office the same politicians who continue to harp on the evils of guns, and who continue to defy the plain meaning of the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, are doing themselves, and all other residents in New York, a disservice. These politicians, Kathy Hochul and Eric Adams, aren't wise and New York isn't safe. And, unfortunately, New York isn't alone. Politicians and Courts in other jurisdictions will pay lip service to the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in Bruen, just as they have paid lip service to the rulings in Heller and McDonald, for over a decade.New York politicians, and politicians in several other jurisdictions, with the same mindset, have handcuffed the police. Yet, at one and the same time, they continue to prevent members of the public from obtaining access to the best means available for protecting themselves, a handgun. Yet, all the while, they exclaim, disingenuously, a concern for “gun violence,” that plagues their cities.But “gun violence” is simply a species of general “criminal violence.” New York’s Hochul and Adams deliberately mislead the public into believing that “gun violence” is the only source of violence committed against innocent people, or, otherwise, that “gun violence” is the only kind of violence in the community that matters. They stubbornly refuse to accept the obvious.  Criminals will always find a way to obtain guns illegally or will use other means if guns are not readily available to them, and that guns in the hands of average, innocent, rational, and responsible Americans do a better job of preventing the commission of violent crimes than do fewer guns in the hands of those Americans. And to those Anti-Second Amendment zealots who contend that guns have no place in a civilized society, one need only point out that no society, today, is truly civilized. Predatory animal, and predatory man, and predatory government are ever with us. In a million years man may truly become “civilized.” And, at that point, the presence or absence of firearms will be irrelevant. But, until that time, the innocent man will require effective means to protect his life and well-being. And, to date, only a firearm provides that. Denying the omnipresent need for a firearm in the hands of the innocent man does not make that fact go away. It only welcomes violence against that innocent man by predator animal on four legs, predator animal on two legs, or, worst of all, predatory Government, a monster with multiple heads—the Hydra beast, a thing most tenacious, wildly destructive, and difficult to control, let alone kill.

ABSURD BELIEFS HAVE ODD STAYING POWER WHEN CONSTANTLY REPEATED

Anti-Second Amendment proponents continually go on about how guns are the source of violence and those that possess them are prone to violence, be whoever they are and wherever situated. That is patently ridiculous. Yet that message is stated insistently and emphatically by Anti-Second Amendment politicians. It is echoed loudly and incessantly by a compliant, sympathetic legacy Press. And it is further exploited by many in the medical community. The message is taken as self-evidently true, without need for proof, even though the claim is patently ridiculous.And New Yorkers know it is hopeless to ask for assistance from Governor Hochul or from the police, especially in a situation where the need is both dire and immediate. See, e.g., Arbalest Quarrel article, titled, "Can We, as Individuals, Rely on the Police to Protect Us" and reposted on Ammoland Shooting Sports News. And, police response to emergencies has only gotten worse in this Post-George Floyd era. Even where refunding of community police departments has displaced the defunding the Police the BLM hysteria, the Neo-Marxist "racism" hysteria remains a potent and debilitating force yet to be reckoned with. Police response times along with the general ineffectiveness of community policing, due in great part to demoralization in the police ranks, understandable and justified, remains. Thus the effectiveness of community policing is worse than in the Pre-George Floyd era. It is especially bad in large Democrat Party run municipalities, like NYC, Chicago, Baltimore, Minneapolis, LA, San Francisco, just to name a few. These City Governments are hopelessly tied to the Neo-Marxist Racism craze or are held hostage to Marxist cultists and/or  derive funding/guidance/control/advice from one or more of a plethora of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) that have direct or indirect connection to the George Soros "Open Society Initiative. See, e.g., a delineation of these organizations on the website "Jellyfish." The tentacles of this "Open Society" takeover of western civilization are in fact worldwide, as readily acknowledged.With all this in mind, it is important for one to keep fervently in mind that the matter of self-defense remains—especially today—a personal responsibility. Police Departments have no legal duty—contrary to what many erroneously believe—to come to the assistance of anyone anyway. And they never did. The impact of this fact has grown acute and is now transparent to any American who will stop to look. The Arbalest Quarrel has published much content about the doctrine of sovereign immunity apropos of the police.See, especially, as noted, supra, AQ article, titled, “Can We, as Individuals, Rely on the Police to Protect Us?”, published on November 21, 2019; AQ article, titled, “The Government Cannot Protect You! You Must Protect Yourself”, published on July 31, 2020; and AQ article, titled “NYC Mayor Eric Adams Has His Own Armed Protection; What About The Rest Of Us?, published on March 30, 2022.New Yorkers are simply asking—in fact, demanding, as they have every right to do—that the Government not deny to the people exercise of the natural law right of personal armed self-defense. But, in New York it is too much to ask of the Government that the people be allowed to arm themselves in their own defense against predators—as if they should be required to ask Government for such permission, when they should not; when Bruen, in fact, says they need not, as the right of armed self-defense is implicit in the Second Amendment guarantee, as a natural law, Divine Right.For, even with the Divine Creator’s own imprimatur on this—the plain words “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”—codified in the Second Amendment of our Nation’s Bill of Rights, and even with the U.S. Supreme Court’s strictures, commanding the New York Government, to comply with the fundamental, unalienable natural law right of the people, the NY Government does not acquiesce. It will not relent. It won’t adhere to or even deign to make an iota of concession to the people of New York. This New York Government doubles down on invoking the Sullivan Act. And, with 112 years of existence and further refinement, the Sullivan Act has been cemented in the psyche of the New York Government and in the psyche of the public as well.And so, this emblem of New York Government defiance to God, to the Constitution, and to the people of New York—one Kathy Hochul—declares openly and pompously that the Government of New York, and not the U.S. Supreme Court, will continue to decide what is in the best interests of the people; that the Government not the High Court has the best interests of the people of New York at heart; and that allowing law-abiding, responsible, rational civilian citizens to carry a concealed weapon in New York endangers everyone. This is the height of arrogance and conceit. Thus, the Governor of New York gives carte blanche to psychopaths and lunatics that they may continue to prey on the innocent, with abandon. See recent AQ article on this as posted on our site, and as reposted on Ammoland Shooting Sports News. But, even in that—allowing law-abiding, responsible, rational civilian citizens to carry a concealed weapon in New York endangers everyone—the Hochul Government is wrong. The Daily Wire blows that myth out of the water. See also article in “Bearing Arms,” and in NSSF. No less than the progressive cable station, CNN, dares mention of a crime wave in Mayor Eric Adams’ New York City. The criminal is, always was, and ever remains the problem. It isn’t “the gun,” and never was “the gun.”  See also article in the NY Post. Bloomberg News tries to spin this massive increase in crime, explaining the crime rates were much worse in the Eighties and early Nineties. But who were the Mayors of NYC at the time? It was the Democrat, Ed Koch, from 1978 through 1989, and it was Democrat David Dinkins, from 1990 until 1993. Crime rates in NYC only began to drop, and to drop dramatically, under Republican Rudy Giuliani, the NYC Mayor from 1994 through December 2001. Giuliani instituted a tough on crime policy, referred to as “Broken Windows.” Crime rates in the Big Apple continued to plummet under the Democrat, Michael Bloomberg, who continued Giuliani’s “Broken Windows” policy. But, once that tough on crime policy was revoked by the Democrat, Bill de Blasio, crime rates began to spike once again and to spiral completely out of control. And, de Blasio, true to form like most politicians, blamed the massive spike in crime in NYC, not on himself and his soft on crime policies, but on the Courts. See NY Post article.The present NYC Mayor, Eric Adams is playing the same “Blame Game” as de Blasio—casting blame on the Courts for crime in the City that continues unchecked.  See CBS News Report here and here, CBS News report. New Yorkers—never a group to exhibit patience—are becoming impatient with Eric Adams. Remember, Eric Adams told the public he wouldn’t continue de Blasio’s lenient on crime policy measures. But, as reported by the Washington Examiner, Adams’ has done just that, notwithstanding the unveiling of his “Blueprint To End Gun Violence,” delivered with great fanfare to the City back in January 2022. But no one hears anything about that anymore. Does anyone really wonder why? Adams “Blueprint to End Gun Violence” was never anything other than a publicity stunt and a poor one at that. And its failure is alluded to in the very title of the Adams’ plan for the City.This thing ‘Gun Violence’ is, like the phrase, ‘assault weapon,’ nothing more than a stratagem, a neologism manufactured for a specific purpose. Leftist propagandists developed it, and the ever obedient and indulgent legacy Press, ran with it. The fabricators of the phrase, ‘Gun Violence,’ have used the phrase to deflect justifiable public criticism, for the massive waves of criminal violence afflicting our Nation, onto “the gun” and away from the Democrats and other Obstructors and Destructors of our free Republic. People like Hochul and Adams attribute the surge of violent crime on “guns” and thereby shift discussion onto an inanimate object and away from themselves. A firearm is a convenient scapegoat. It is incapable of proffering a defense. It cannot point to the fact that it, as an object, not a sentient subject, can neither cause violent crime, nor be the effect of violent crime. But Hochul and Adams attempt, nonetheless, to shunt aside justifiable criticism of them and their administrations. But it is their own incompetence and their own lack of will and foresight to deal with crime head-on, unlike their predecessors Giuliani and Bloomberg had done, that explains the rapidly rising crime rates. But even those Mayors of New York could have gone further to truly bring violent crime to a standstill. They could have taken action to overturn the Sullivan Act. But they would never go so far as that. Disarming the law-abiding New Yorker would never be part of a bold plan to tackle crime at its source: the psychopathic criminal, the violent criminally insane, and the opportunistic hoodlum. See article in “City and State New York.” How these Anti-Second Amendment zealots love to use statistics to deceive the public and to lull it into complacency! Contending with crime, substantively and seriously, won’t happen with the present Administration and Democrat Party-Controlled Legislature in Albany. The main problem with New York is that too many members of the public willingly accept their politicians' manipulation of statistical data, urging the public to deny what they readily observe in day-to-day life in New York. And too many of them have become so enamored with and mesmerized by the new religious dogma of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," along with its ludicrous claim of having a lock hold on morality, i.e., of what is right, and proper, and just, that their rational mind is trapped in a hopeless miasma of confusion, subject to its own nightmarish discordant logic.And so, the State Government is, at present, under the thumb of Governor Kathy Hochul and of a Democrat Party-Controlled Legislature that operates with abandon, against the needs and interests of the people of the State.The New York Governor, along with the Democrat Party-Controlled Legislature and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, “who vowed to crack down on crime if elected mayor,” but didn’t, are ever bound to their own dogma and to their own psychological and ideological biases. Add to that the fact that they are held hostage to a Radical Left Marxist internationalist base of voters that despises our Country, and to a shadowy network of Neoliberal Globalist/Neo-Marxist "ruling elite" enforcers that intend to destroy our Country, and you have a situation ripe for corruption of Government, and stagnation in society, and ultimate decay and dissolution of the Republic.So wrapped up are these politicians in their dogma and personal lust for power, that they fail to understand, or choose to ignore, that their cardinal duty is to provide for the general safety, security, and well-being of the public.  Saying they care are about the well-being of New York and its denizens, doesn't make it so. It is all just a vacuous exercise—the same verbiage delivered drone-like, hypnotically, unconvincingly. These politicians have done nothing beneficial for New York, and everything that disadvantages New York. Their multiple failures bring discredit and shame to all of them. Time for a change in outlook don't you think? The Governor, the Legislature, the City Mayor adamantly refuse to allow New Yorkers to provide for their own defense. And that is worse than shameful. The conscious refusal to even acknowledge the unalienable, immutable right of armed self-defense is reprehensible, indefensible, and unforgivable. And, with the Soros-funded Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, who operates more like a zealous Public Defender of the criminal element in the City and much less like a zealous Prosecutor of them, on behalf of the populace, as he is supposed to do, New York is on the road to societal disaster at a rapid pace.If change is to come, then, it will have to come from Republicans and Independents. And the best bet for New York is U.S. Congressman, Lee Zeldin, for Governor, in 2022. If Americans are to secure their unalienable right of armed self-defense, it is best they have Government, Federal and State, that work for them, not against them; that honor their natural law rights, rather than attempt to shred those rights. Might Lee Zeldin take steps to dismantle the apparatus of the Sullivan Act? It would be interesting to see. But will the New York voter give him that chance? Better legislation with the right people in Office than spending exorbitant sums of money, time, and aggravation on endless litigation!How much more threat of violence must progressive/liberal-minded New Yorkers suffer before they come to their senses. How many more innocent lives lost for lack of will to try someone new; to try something new?One would think the public would finally come to its senses after the horror of de Blasio as Mayor of NYC and Cuomo as Governor of the State. Too many New Yorkers have not. How much more danger must New Yorkers contend with before they throw people like Hochul and Adams under the bus, instead of positing themselves there, instead? Too many New Yorkers seem willing to accept deception from politicians, even when that deception and the horrific result of that deception is plainly visible and risible.City residents are stuck with Adams for a long while, three more years. But Governor Hochul, who was never elected Mayor, but became Mayor after Cuomo was hounded out of Office by the Democrat Party machinery that had once supported him, will now face her first Gubernatorial race in November 2022.New Yorkers will have a chance as well, to remake the New York State Assembly and Senate. Hopefully, Republicans and Independents and enough intelligent Democrats will turn the tide. They can in November. They can have a safe and secure State if they have the will and do not allow themselves to be hoodwinked by propaganda, flooding the airwaves. It is all up to the people of New York. Give Lee Zeldin and Alison Esposito a chance to turn things around for New York. New York can become a safe, secure, and thriving State once again._____________________________________Copyright © 2022 Roger J. Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY PROMOTES PETITION DRIVE TO UNDERMINE THE SECOND AMENDMENT

There is an old adage that has gained some currency of late. It is this: “keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.” Some attribute the adage to Sun-Tsu, the brilliant Chinese military genius and strategist, who authored, “The Art of War.” Others attribute the adage to Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian Politician and Philosopher, who authored, “The Prince.” Whoever first came up with that saying is not a matter of particular importance. What is important is the import of the saying. It is certainly one that any American who cherishes the Bill of Rights ought to keep uppermost in mind. Why do we bring this up? We do so for this reason: to keep you apprised of new developments in the antigun community as we become aware of them, as antigun groups work toward their endgame: Destruction of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Forewarned is, indeed, forearmed. The liberal weblog, “AlterNet,” has very recently sponsored a petition drive on behalf of the antigun Group, Everytown for Gun Safety. We cite it here for your perusal, together with links to the webpages that are promoting this drivel._____________________________________________

 Join The Movement To End Gun Violence In America. Join Everytown For Gun Safety. Everytown is a movement of Americans working together to end gun violence and build safer communities. Gun violence touches every town in America. For a generation, change has been thwarted by the Washington gun lobby and by a broken Congress that has failed to take common-sense steps that will save lives. But something is changing. More than 2.5 million mayors, moms, survivors, law enforcement, teachers, gun owners, and everyday Americans have stepped up to demand more of our country and our elected officials -- and it's working. Because of this movement, the NRA is losing its grip on state houses across America. In 2015, we will continue to fight for laws that will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people by requiring a simple background check for every gun sale. And we'll hold our lawmakers accountable when they put the gun lobby's interests before the safety of our communities. Everytown starts with you, and it starts in your town. Sign up here to help bring an end to gun violence in your community and across the country.As a movement of Americans fighting for common-sense gun policies, we depend on contributions from supporters like you to fund important work to reduce gun violence.Paid for by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund. Contributions to Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund are not tax-deductible.____________________________________________It is not our purpose here to explicate this propaganda for you. It is all nonsense, anyway. However, there are a couple of reasons we are bringing this matter to your attention.First, take a close look at this propaganda advert and petition. Something is missing from it, something important. Do you know what is missing? It is this: "Everytown for Gun Safety Action" is the brainchild of former New York City Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg. Apparently, Bloomberg doesn't want the public to know that a multi-billionaire is the driving force behind the effort to destroy the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Arbalest Quarrel discussed Michael Bloomberg's, "Everytown" organization in depth, when he  first created it, almost one year ago. The Article in the Arbalest Quarrel is titled, "'Everytown for Gun Safety": Bloomberg's Blueprint for Destruction of the Second Amendment?'" "Everytown" is Bloomberg's raison d'etre, since leaving public office.Second, anyone who is ignorant enough to sign Bloomberg's petition is signing away and, in fact, wishing away his or her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms: a sacred right that one is unlikely to find in the Constitution of any other nation in the world. If a person is willing to sign away even one Constitutional Right, that person obviously can be duped into signing away others. Once gone, one's rights and liberties are gone forever. Autocratic rulers and autocratic ruling bodies seek to reduce individual rights and liberties to a nullity. Destruction of the Second Amendment is a major step in that direction. Michael Bloomberg doesn't want to talk about that, though. He would rather talk about "violence" and, in so doing, he tortuously attempts to tie violence to guns -- inanimate objects. Bloomberg might just as sensibly tie violence to knives, and hammers, and broomstick handles -- the point being that the real issue here isn't guns at all -- it is people -- "dangerous people" as the "Everytown" petition says. And, who, are the dangerous people?  Why, everyone who owns and possesses a gun: people like you and me because, to the antigun crowd, a dangerous person is a person who would wish to own and possess a gun at all. Imagine that! So, don't for a minute believe that Michael Bloomberg's "Everytown" antigun group is concerned only with guns in the hands of criminals, and psychopaths, and lunatics. If that were so, the myriad gun laws in force today would be sufficient, for those laws would be enforced. They aren't. The Everytown petition drive is nothing more than a naked ploy, playing to irrational emotion. It is a devious attempt to obtain support from as wide a swathe of the American population as it can. With that support Bloomberg's "Everytown" organization will certainly attempt, anew, to make a case before the U.S. Congress and before the State Legislatures that ownership of and possession of firearms must be ever more stringently controlled and restricted -- controlled and restricted, ultimately, out of existence.The only real violence here is the violence to our Bill of Rights. Hopefully, the American public will see through the "Everytown" petition charade.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2015 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

DOES A SINISTER AGENDA LURK BEHIND BLOOMBERG’S $50 MILLION PLAN TO CURB GUN VIOLENCE?

The Arbalest Quarrel took a look at a New York Times Section called “Room for Debate.” As the title suggests, it’s an opinion page. “In Room for Debate, The NY Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. Reader comments are moderated Monday through Friday.” Three editors and a “researcher and fact checker” manage it. Catching our attention is a debate titled, “Toe to Toe with the NRA.”The NY Times gave a brief recitation of the topic debate. “Michael Bloomberg is planning to spend $50 million this year building a nationwide network of advocates to motivate voters who feel strongly about curbing gun violence. What will this new campaign need to succeed? And what can gun control advocates learn from the gun lobby in terms of political strategy, messaging and grass-roots mobilization?”In the topic’s description the NY Times shows its bias. First, the topic outline suggests the NRA isn’t interested in curbing gun violence. That’s absurd. Second, the NY Times suggests, yet falsely, the NRA doesn’t represent the American public’s interest. That’s also absurd. The public has a personal interest in preserving its Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment secures the other nine. Third, the NY Times connects the two words, ‘lobby’ and NRA, suggesting lobbying is a disreputable practice. But, the NRA didn’t invent the practice. And the antigun zealots make use of it as does Bloomberg – the preeminent lobbyist. But, unlike Bloomberg who seeks to destroy the Second Amendment, the NRA wishes to preserve it. To work for the preservation of our sacred Bill of Rights is the highest calling of any American. Our Bill of Rights is the bedrock of our Nation’s culture, history and heritage. Of the first ten Amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights, it is the Second Amendment that constrains the Federal Government and its standing army.The Second Amendment represents a sacred trust that exists between the Federal Government and the People. The Second Amendment serves as a reminder. The Federal Government emanates “from the People” and exists “at the pleasure of the People.” We created it. We reserve the right to dismantle it. The Second Amendment makes the point clear. No other part of the U.S. Constitution makes that clear.The antigun zealots never discuss the Founders’ reason for carving the Second Amendment in stone. Indeed, they never mention it. They do not wish to debate that. They only talk about gun violence. But, curiously, the antigun zealots fail to talk about law-abiding citizens successfully defending themselves and their families with guns. They display an odd selective amnesia in their discussion of guns. For the antigun zealots the Second Amendment doesn’t exist. Guns do exist, but they wish they didn’t. Gun confiscation isn’t simply a priority of the antigun groups. It’s their raison d’etre. They think their cause is noble and their motives pure. But they’re dupes.There exists a sinister undercurrent. As the United States, Canada and Mexico drive toward a North American Union, modeled after the EU, a need will arise to amend our “Bill of Rights.” The architects of this plan – the “global elites” – seek to scrap the Second Amendment. They strive for uniformity. Mexico and Canada don’t have a Bill of Rights embodying the right of their people to keep and bear arms. A stated need to curb gun violence is nothing but propaganda laden messages filling the airwaves – a smokescreen. The antigun zealot rank and file buys it. The antigun zealot rank and file believes gun confiscation will promote peace and tranquility. It won’t.The billionaire “global elites” are instigators. Their principal goal – their true agenda – is both sinister and unholy: A North American Union. An armed American citizenry poses a threat to that goal. They fear and loathe it. So they seek to discredit the Second Amendment, to dismantle it. The Second Amendment is incompatible with the Surveillance State and a North American Union. They know it. So do we.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2014 Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) and Roger J Katz (Towne Criour) All Rights Reserved.

BLOOMBERG'S ON THE RECORD: CONFISCATION OF ALL HANDGUNS

NY Times writer, Jeremy W. Peters, followed up his April 15, 2014 Article, “Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.,” with an Article on April 16, titled, “An Ex-Mayor, in His Own Words.” www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/opinion/Bloomberg discusses gun control.In the April 16 Article Michael Bloomberg lays bare the extent of his rage against the Second Amendment. He says, “You have to be careful if there’s two issues you care about . . . what do you do? And I think you’ve got to pick your issue. In our case, my case, it’s guns. I care very much about immigration. But guns are the No. 1 thing. So I’ve got a senator who’s running for re-election. He’s terrible on guns but good on immigration. I’m going after him. That’s it.” After three consecutive mayoral terms, Bloomberg’s new reason for being is this: destroy the Second Amendment. Other concerns are secondary.In the April 15 NY Times Article Bloomberg gives us his strategy. It belies his true intent. “The strategy will focus not on sweeping federal restrictions to ban certain weapons, but instead will seek to expand the background check system for gun buyers both at the state and national levels.” Bloomberg is evasive. The strategy is stopgap. Bloomberg’s fanatical aim remains unchanged. He seeks to remove civilian access to firearms. This becomes clear in the April 16 NY Times Article. In that Article Bloomberg adds, “you can have a ban on assault weapons. But assault weapons kill 400 people a year. They get a lot of press. But its 400 vs. 31,000 with handguns.” “I think having a gun at home when you have children is really dumb.” These statements hint at Bloomberg’s real intent: further confiscation of firearms.Bloomberg doesn’t cite authority to support his claims. But the assertions are still doubtful. Let us assume Bloomberg’s statistics are true. If Bloomberg is referring to homicides, he shouldn’t target guns, but, rather, criminal use of guns. Bloomberg doesn’t do that. He conflates issues. All antigun zealots do. Bloomberg does so because his goal is not to see a fall in crime. It’s gun confiscation. If both an armed public and bold criminal statutes are the best solution to a fall in crime, Bloomberg, likely, would still prefer gun confiscation to an to an armed public and bold criminal statutes. If so, the issue of gun violence is simply a “blind” to distract the public from the true issue: gun confiscation.Second, Bloomberg gives us a straw man argument to knock down. The argument may go like this: No sane, responsible person wishes to see an innocent child harmed. Dangerous items in homes are threats to children. Responsible parents do not keep dangerous items in their homes. Guns are by nature dangerous items. Since a sane, responsible parent doesn’t want to see a child harmed by guns, no rational and responsible parent would keep a gun in the house.The straw man is Bloomberg’s claim that gun owners with children are irrational and irresponsible. The idea is absurd but it goes to the central belief of all antigun zealots: gun owners are irrational, erratic and irresponsible. Of course, Bloomberg begs the question: is a law-abiding, adult who wishes to defend home and family with a firearm, irresponsible and irrational for wishing to do so? Bloomberg says, “of course.” He takes this as a given – true beyond need for proof. But, many items are potentially dangerous. Take a look at contents of a medicine cabinet, cutlery in the kitchen, power tools in the garage.Clearly, the precautions one takes with dangerous items are what’s important, not the items themselves. Keep in mind, Bloomberg wished to ban firearms that New York law defines as “assault weapons.” After all, he signed the NY SAFE Act into law. The NY SAFE Act’s signature feature is a ban on “assault weapons.” Next, Bloomberg aims to ban all handguns. That’s implied in his statement, “I think having a gun at home when you have children is really dumb.” Had Bloomberg served a fourth Mayoral term, he likely would’ve banned handguns under NY SAFE. And he wouldn’t have stopped there. He aims to ban all guns. Will New York City’s current Mayor, Bill de Blasio extend NY SAFE? We’ll wait and see.Bloomberg’s handgun comment is odd and outrageous for a third reason. Bloomberg has the nerve to reassert the D.C. handgun ban the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in District of Columbia vs. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). Bloomberg condemns possession of handguns even for self-defense in one’s home. But, that assertion directly contradicts a key Supreme Court holding in Heller.The Supreme Court stated clearly: “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” Notably, the Supreme Court didn’t qualify those homeowners entitled to use firearms for self-defense: families with children versus families sans children. By arguing anew a ban on handguns Bloomberg is ignoring a principal holding of the U.S. Supreme Court. He’s denying the rule of law, holding himself as a king, and deciding destiny for our Country.In fact, Bloomberg’s antigun agenda is more ambitious than that designed by District of Columbia politicians. For Bloomberg has not suggested banning handguns only in New York. So, Bloomberg’s goal of gun confiscation goes well beyond the total handgun ban the District of Columbia passed for itself. Clearly, Bloomberg won’t rest until he sees a total ban on firearms. His goal is de facto repeal of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.Systematic rejection of our sacred “Bill of Rights” is, it seems, the endgame of Billionaire internationalists. For them, the United States Constitution is too old. The internationalists want to draft a new Constitution for us, absent a “Bill of Rights” – a Constitution for the “21st Century.” They want one compatible with their geopolitical and economic policies and objectives. The notion of individual liberties as set forth in our “Bill of Rights” does not fit with those policies and objectives. So, the billionaire internationalists want a constitution belittling our unique heritage – a Constitution homogenous with those of other Western Nations. I’m sure Bloomberg has some interesting ideas for us.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2014 Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) and Roger J Katz (Towne Criour) All Rights Reserved.

BLOOMBERG’S $50 MILLION CHALLENGE: TO THE NRA OR TO THE SECOND AMENDMENT?

Money can buy much: material comforts, financial security, and politicians, to name a few. But, can money buy our sacred “Bill of Rights?” New York’s past Mayor, billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg, aims to find out. An April 15, 2014 New York Times Article by Jeremy W. Peters, poses the question. The link to the NY Times Article is here: www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/opinion/bloomberg spends $50 million to challenge nra.The Article’s title, “Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.,” suggests Bloomberg is challenging the NRA. But the Article’s title misinforms the public. Bloomberg isn’t targeting the NRA at all. He’s targeting the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.Newspaper editors consider titles of Articles carefully. Suppose the Article’s title was, “Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the Bill of Rights?” Our guess is most readers would do a double take. For, if Bloomberg were to attack the inviolability of our most sacred document directly, readers would question his sanity. So, the NY Times couches Bloomberg’s true motive, spending $50 million dollars to destroy the Bill of Rights, in “safe” terms. This means Bloomberg isn’t attacking the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights. He’s merely attacking an organization, the NRA. The Mainstream Media’s ability to manipulate American thought and opinion is thought-provoking. But the American public mustn’t fall prey to deception.Bloomberg wishes to use his “muscle” to create a Country mirroring his conception of reality. Bloomberg is astute enough, plainly, to realize dollars alone do not change opinion. But, he is blind to the futility of his cause. No sane person revels in violence. But, placing blame for violence on an inanimate object is absurd. Bloomberg targets guns rather than perpetrators of violence. Yet, he believes he can defeat the Second Amendment by “restructuring” the antigun groups he funds. He believes he will win Americans to his “cause” by stressing TV adverts less and “field operations” more. He thinks he can hoodwink the public by attacking the Second Amendment indirectly through the trick of “background checks” rather than outright “gun bans.” That hasn’t worked before. It won’t work now.Bloomberg’s war against the Second Amendment is base. For all the money he might spend, for all the media attention he can muster, he is waging an absurd war. The Second Amendment is an integral part of the Bill of Rights. So, Bloomberg is waging war against the “Bill of Rights” – his real foe. He can’t win that war. Michael Bloomberg fashions himself a King. King George III? If so, must Americans fight the American Revolutionary War a second time?Clearly, Bloomberg’s assault on the NRA is mere pretense. His true assault is on the Second Amendment. But, why is Bloomberg waging a war against America’s most sacred liberties? Whose secretive interests are in play? What’s the real agenda? We can speculate. But, the last sentence of the Article aptly shows the nerve of the man who seeks to bend humanity to his will. “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.” That’s right Michael. The Good Lord Above must kowtow to Billionaires with oversize egos too. Go right in![separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"]Copyright © 2014 Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) and Roger J Katz (Towne Criour) All Rights Reserved.